Ultra Rare Video of Mating Deep-Sea Anglerfish Shocks Biologists

A new video, captured in the waters around Portugal’s Azores islands, has stunned deep-sea biologists. It shows a fist-size female anglerfish, resplendent with bioluminescent lights and elongated whiskerlike structures projecting outward from her body. And if you look closely, she’s got a mate: A dwarf male is fused to her underside, essentially acting as a permanent sperm provider.

According to Science Magazine, the video was captured at a depth of 800 meters (2,625 ft) by deep-sea explorers Kirsten and Joachim Jakobsen in a submersible. Only a handful of videos exist of live deep-sea anglerfish and this is the first to show a sexually united pair.